A Very Good Thing
by el dinosaurio
Summary: "And she sometimes she looks at you like you're the last good thing on Earth, even though you've still never felt like you've deserved it."


**A/N:** I'm a bit nervous because this is my first time writing anything for the Harry Potter fandom. Constructive criticism is always appreciated. Please enjoy.

* * *

You are holding the sword of Gryffindor. Nagini is lying lifeless in front of you without a head, your own doing.

You see Luna, her face smudged with dirt, and she's looking at you. Her big, silver-grey eyes staring into your face.

Her face breaks into a grin and she's looking at you like you're the last good thing on this earth.

You can't help but think you don't deserve her smile, her look. Harry Potter is the one who deserves it most, but he's dead now. He's the only one who really stood a chance against Voldemort. You've only killed his snake, and only because Harry asked you to.

* * *

You find Luna after the dust settles and the battle's won.

Harry, as it turns out, was alive after all. And he's defeated Voldemort.

You're still gripping the sword. Right now, it's the only thing that feels real to you. Everything seems kind of like the calm of a nightmare, right before whatever beastie you're dreaming about comes round again.

It's also the only thing at the moment that makes you feel like you're truly a Gryffindor. You belong in the house of the brave, the house of the great Boy-Who-Lived.

You find Luna standing on top of a pile of rubble, dreamily instructing anyone who happens to drift past to go to the remains of the Great Hall.

You climb on top of the rubble and stand beside her.

"Hello, Neville," she greets in her dreamy voice. Her smile is back again and so is the look. "How are you?"

"Hello, Luna," you say. "Tired. Nothing feels real about this."

She takes your free hand and squeezes slightly. Her hand fits perfectly into yours, and suddenly everything feels less and less like a dream. "It's real," she assures you. "Everything is very, very real."

* * *

You and Luna kiss two weeks after the Battle of Hogwarts.

Whenever you see her, you get an ache in your chest. Almost like a longing. And whenever you are near her, holding her hand or just standing next to her, you feel grounded. Like she is your tether to the earth.

And she sometimes she looks at you like you're the last good thing on Earth, even though you've still never felt like you've deserved it.

You kiss her and it dulls the ache in your chest a little bit and it just feels so right. Her face fits nicely in your hands, even if it looks a little dwarfed by them. Her hands easily wrap around your neck like they were made to fit there. After you pull away, you rest your forehead against hers and the two of you stay like that for a while. Everything inside you has gone calm and you just want to stay here forever.

Luna has her eyes closed, her brows coming together just slightly as she seems to be concentrating on something.

"What are you thinking about?" You ask.

Luna blinks her eyes open, her silver eyes steadily looking into your own. "Nargles," she says. "I won't have to worry about them anymore now that the school is gone."

You smile widely and your heart skips a tiny beat. She's strange, but you don't mind. You like her that way.

* * *

The two of you travel together after the Battle. There is so much to do before students can come back to the castle.

You and Luna initially stay to help the rebuilding process and you helped in putting most of the ancient building back together. When you leave to travel, the basic structure and exterior have been built. All that is left is sprucing up the insides.

McGonagall, who is leading the rebuilding effort, was understanding about your leave and wished for the two of you to come back soon.

You and Luna travel to Norway, indulging Luna in her quest to find the elusive Crumple-Horned Snorkack.

You feel a bit odd, as if you are stepping on Xenophilius' toes, because you know she and him went to Sweden to try to find them together. But he's currently at St. Mungo's to receive help for the trauma of being imprisoned. You've heard he's going to be released soon though.

Luna is already planning the Welcome Home party. "It would be splendid if we found a Crumple-Horned Snorkack. He would love it, especially as a present for coming home."

You don't have the heart to tell her you don't think they exist.

* * *

It's been a year and a half since The Kiss, since you became a couple. When Luna looks at you, it's different somehow.

She looks at you now as if you are A Very Good Thing instead of The Last Good Thing.

You don't mind, not really.

As long as she still looks at you like you are A Good Thing, it is enough.

But you feel it too. This shift in the way you feel about her.

You think that maybe the War changed for feelings for each other. You've heard that emotions can run high during war, with all the pressure and life or death situations.

Before, you felt a strong need to just be _with_ her. And you thought it was a romantic wanting. But you've changed.

You still want to be near her, almost need her near. She is still your tether to the earth even though everything feels grounded and real all the time.

You love Luna, with all of your heart. But you are not _in_ love with her.

* * *

It takes a little while to rustle up the courage to tell her. You feel a little ashamed that it took so long to be brave because you are a Gryffindor bravery is what Gryffindors _do_.

But this is probably the hardest thing you've had to do. Even harder than when you endured a year without Harry Potter, rebuilding Dumbledore's Army to its former glory. The woman you love at your side.

"Luna," you say as you walk into the small library that you've built together in the cottage near her father's house. "I've got to tell you something."

She looks up at you, big dreamy eyes staring right at you. And you see The Look. The Very Good Thing Look. "Oh hello, Neville. What have you got to tell me?" she asks, her voice soft.

You sigh and your gaze drops. You can't look her in the eye when you tell her. "I can't do this anymore," you say. "I love you but I'm not _in_ love with you."

"I thought you might say that," Luna says. There is no hurt or malice behind her words and she doesn't sad or hurt, only understanding.

You look up at her and she is smiling softly. "What?" You ask dumbly.

"We are not meant to be," she says simply, rising from the overstuffed armchair she was sitting in. "It's okay. I've known for a while."

You close the distance between the two of you. Your hands find the side of her face again, still dwarfing it slightly. You rest your forehead against hers, grounding yourself, just like you did so many years ago after The Kiss. "I love you," you whisper.

"I love you, too," she whispers back, and you know she means it the same way you do.

* * *

Luna left to travel soon after the split, becoming a wizarding naturalist.

You think it suits her quite well from what you've read from her letters.

She tells you she's found a new someone special. Someone to look at like they're the Last Good Thing. And she assures you that he will never replace you, her love for him is different than her love for you.

And you are happy for Luna; happy she's found someone to be in love with. In turn, you tell her about returning to teach at Hogwarts and your reconnection with Hannah Abbott, the Hufflepuff girl who was in your year.

Hannah will never be able tether you to the earth like Luna does. You don't think anyone can. You are so in love with Hannah it hurts sometimes, but you will always, always love Luna. You will always love her and the way she makes everything feel real even when it seems like it isn't at all.

When you are with Luna, and she smiles at you, you feel so good about everything.

And that is A Very Good Thing.

* * *

**A/N:** This is based on a conversation my friends and I had. We agreed that we absolutely loved Neville and Luna, both as separate characters and as a couple, and we were sad that he and Luna didn't end up together in the books/movies. So we came up with the theory that is basically the plot to this story.

Thanks a million for reading.


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